Woman wants answers on Durham police response times

A lifelong Durham resident is asking for answers after her neighbor said it took police 30 minutes to respond to a break-in in progress.

Michelle Wicker lives in southern Durham's Hope Valley Farms and uses the Next Door app to keep up with neighbors.

Wicker said she was shocked to see that it took police so long to respond to a break-in at near-by Orchard Lake.

The victim, Gretchen Locker, told ABC11 she called 911 three times before police showed up 30 minutes later, and says it's the third time her home has been broken into.

Wicker said she felt compelled to write an email to city officials and ABC11 Eyewitness News asking about the average response time for situations such as Locker's.

"It made me feel concerned," Wicker said. "When I call 911, what is the appropriate response time if it's an emergency?

"I automatically went to 'what if it was the fire department or an ambulance?' What need do I have, and when I call someone, what is the appropriate response time?"

According to the Durham Police Department, its average response time for a break-in in progress is 4 minutes and 17 seconds.

Wicker said officers should treat active break-ins with more urgency.

"To me it's someone's home, and they're kicking in the door and that's an immediate threat," she said. "So that would be a time where you would definitely send someone in immediately. So yeah I think something needs to be done about it."